


Explanations

by all_the_ships_are_sailing



Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-01
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 03:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/743627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_the_ships_are_sailing/pseuds/all_the_ships_are_sailing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Clara are traveling in the late 15th century when a familiar face arrives. River Song convinces the Doctor to change history. This is an AU taking place after the current series in Doctor Who which changes the happenings of Torchwood: Children of Earth. Eventually Jack recounts his life story to Ianto as they travel across time and space.</p><p>DISCONTINUED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Saving an Old Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I've tried to keep everything as canon as possible. This is a future Doctor, River, Clara going back to change what happened during Torchwood: Children of Earth, not as if that never happened at all. River in this is older than presently in DW and close to the time of her death in the Library. She has her screwdriver and vortex manipulator and has met Clara. The Doctor and Clara are in their stage of random travel at this point. Thank you for reading. Enjoy! =)

The Doctor and Clara were travelling in late 15th Century Spain. They were standing outside the Alcazar Castle in Cordoba, when Christopher Columbus emerged from the castle with a wide grin on his face. He came over to where they were standing.

“Thank you, Doctor. For all your knowledge and help. And you Clara, for your bravery and encouragement. I shall repay the favor in kind someday.” Columbus nodded and walked off. Clara and the Doctor turned to each other, excited.

“That was Christopher Columbus. The Christopher Columbus. We helped him get to America.” Clara jumped up and down with excitement.

“Did someone say Doctor?” River Song strolled around the corner of the building in that moment. The Doctor looked up immediately. “Hello, Sweetie,” she said striding over to where they stood.

“River Song.” A wide grin broke across the Doctor’s face as he embraced his wife, or is she merely an acquaintance. “Where are we?”

“I’m further ahead than you.”

“How can you tell?”

“You told me where to find you!”

“Stalking me from the future, you must care,” he laughed, “But any way,” he turned around. “Clara, this is River Song. River Song, Clara Oswald.”

“How do you do?” River said as she shook Clara’s hand.

“You two know each other?” Clara said looking up at the Doctor’s face.

River raised her eyebrows. 

“This is my wife,” the Doctor offered, gesturing to her.

“Wife? You never told me you were married, Doctor.”

“It’s a long story,” he said, look apologetically at River. “I suppose there’s a reason you’re here?”

“You mentioned Columbus, knew I’d find you here. I did some digging. And I’ve found something that I think we could help in the early 21st Century.”

“What happened?”

“The 4-5-6. Does that ring any bells for you?”

“I’ve heard of them. I think it was Jack Harkness that mentioned it. He asked me if I knew anything about them which I don’t.”

“I do. Early Spring 1965,” but she paused and looked around. “Probably best if we pop in the TARDIS for a chat actually. I’m thinking 1492 isn’t the best time to be talking about events that are going to happen in 1965.” She smiled at her husband and at his young companion.

The three of them wandered a few streets over to where the TARDIS was parked and went inside. Clara immediately sat on the bench near the console. The Doctor and River both remained standing near the entrance, though.

“Now. Early spring 1965. The 4-5-6 began broadcasting a message over the airwave with wavelength 456. That’s where they got their name. It took most of the spring and summer months for the government agencies of Great Britain to translate, but they did. The 4-5-6 claimed they would release a strain of Spanish influenza capable of wiping out millions of human lives. They would release the anti-virus for a price. The price they requested was 12 children.”

“Children? What were they going to do with human children?”

“That’s where this gets interesting. In their proposal they stated that the children would not be harmed. That they would live forever. In November of 1965, the government assigned four people the task of escorting twelve orphans who had no one to miss the from the Holly Tree Lodge orphanage in Abroath, Scotland to a designated meeting point. The records showed that the children were to be transferred to another orphanage in Plymouth, but none of them ever arrived and no records were found of any of the children.”

“But how does this tie into the 21st Century?”

“I’ll get there. It’s nice to have a good back story, no?”

“Yes, yes, alright. I’m sorry, dear.” The Doctor and River retired to the bench closer the door for River to continue her storytelling.

“The four individuals assigned to the task were: Andrew Staines, a teacher, employed by the orphanage where the children originated; Ellen Hunt, a civil service secretary; Michael Sanders, the man in charge of Britain’s clandestine operations at the time; and a name I think you’ll recognize, Doctor.”

“Who?”

“Captain Jack Harkness. The man that couldn’t die was sent to walk the children towards the light beam the 4-5-6 were using to transport them.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“He did,” she said look, grievous. “44 years later in 2009 are the events we will prevent the history we can change.”

“They came back?”

“For more children. 10% of the world’s population of children ages 5 to 11. And the government authorities had every intension of giving them what they asked for until Captain Jack Harkness sacrificed his own grandson to stop them.”

“But Jack did it then, why are we going stop him saving the world?”

“We’re not. We’re going to stop the 4-5-6 from killing a bunch of people in Thames House including Jack and his colleague Ianto Jones. We, you and I, have the technology to do what Jack did without sacrificing a human child, especially not his grandson. And I happen to know where they have the station set up we can do it from. We’re going to save the day before Jack Harkness has to.”

“Alright,” the Doctor said staring at her. “But how do you know all this?”

“Jack told me,” she said with a smile. “I met him at the Intergalactic Bar the other night. He just came over and told me all these things and that he thought maybe you and I could help.”

“Why would he think that?”

“It’s in the past (or is it future),” she smiled as she spoke. “That’s our specialty!”

The Doctor turned to the console and started the engines. “Oh,” River shook her head and pushed her husband out of the way, “You really should stop leaving the breaks on.” She flipped a few switches and adjusted a few things and they were off on the smoothest TARDIS ride Clara had ever felt.

A few moments later they landed in an underground bunker in 2009 London.

“Hello, everyone!” the Doctor announced cheerfully as he stepped out of the TARDIS.. “I’m the Doctor, this is Clara, and this is my lovely wife, River Song. We’re here to save the world.”

“Excuse me?”

“Were going to save you of course!” said River as she and the Doctor pulled out their sonic screwdrivers. “No children will be handed over today.”

“Now, if you don’t mind. We’re going to need you to step away from that equipment so we can adjust it properly to do what needs doing,” the Doctor said approaching the control panels. “River, how much time do we have?”

River looked at her watch. “Jack and Ianto are going in just about now. Fifteen minutes.”

The Doctor’s eyes went wide with fear, but they both continued working. Clara stood nearby, her arms crossed. “Suppose there’s nothing I could do to help, is there, Doctor?”

“What?” the Doctor said, looking up. “Clara, yes. Come over here and just hold the sonic at that part there ‘til is buzzes,” he said handing her the screwdriver and moving to the main console.

Minutes passed. Too many minutes. River looked at her watch again. “Doctor, it’s done.”

“What is? What’s happened?”

“They’ve released the virus.”

“We can still save them River. Keep working.”

And a moment later they were ready. The Doctor flipped the switch and the three of them ran for the TARDIS. Once they got back inside, the really tricky part began.

“Do we go back or just go?” River asked looking at him.

“Just go,” the Doctor answer. “We’d be too close to our own time stream otherwise. And besides, I’ve got an anti-virus for every virus right here,” he said as he held up a small canister. We just got to get in there before anyone dies and set this off. And with that the TARDIS was in flight and a moment later it had landed on Floor 13 of Thames House, headquarters of MI5. The tank containing the 4-5-6 exploded just as they opened the TARDIS doors and Jack flung himself over Ianto, protectively, not even noticing the TARDIS arriving or the three individuals exiting.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and pulled the pin on the canister. Within moments, people could be heard coughing, regaining their functions throughout the building, including Ianto beneath Jack. Jack himself however was lying quite still, face down on top of Ianto. The Doctor turned around just in time for Jack to look up and say his name before he was gone. A piece of the bullet proof glass had hit him square in the back. He was bleeding too much to survive.

“He’ll be alright,” Ianto said sitting up, cradling Jack’s head in his arms and smiling at the Doctor. “Can’t die, can he?”

The Doctor smiled and shook his head, motioning for Clara and River to follow him back into the TARDIS. Once they were back inside. He went to the console.

“You’re not going to wait for him to wake up?” River inquired.

“No. He’ll be alright. He’s in good hands,” he said with a smile. River and the Doctor together took the controls of the TARDIS and set it into motion. Jack sat up in Ianto’s arms, gasping for air, just in time to see and hear the TARDIS fade away for view.

“The Doctor was here?” were the first words Jack spoke in his new life. “And now he’s left,” he add falling gently backwards again. His head landed perfectly in Ianto’s lap.

“Yeah, but he looked quite different,” Ianto said, running his fingers through Jack’s hair as they sat on the floor together.

“He could have regenerated. I mean, who else arrives in a big blue box?”

“He had two women with him. Not anyone I’d seen before though.”

“New companions I suppose,” Jack said. Ianto knew he was upset to have missed the chance to travel with the Doctor again, but he didn’t want Jack to go anywhere. Right here was perfect for Ianto. They could just stay right here on the floor in Thames House for all of eternity and that would be just fine with Ianto, so long has he had Jack there with him.


	2. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing right where the last chapter left one. Ianto almost died and Jack saved his life at the cost of one of his own; something bound to leave an impression on the both, forever. Enjoy! :)

Suddenly, Jack seemed to realize where he was again. “What happened?” he said as he sat up quickly and looked around the room.

“They’re gone,” was all Ianto could say. He said it blankly as he stared at Jack’s face.

Jack seemed to realize immediately that something was wrong and he turned to Ianto. He reached out and touched Ianto’s cheek. He did one of those cute half-smiles he knew Ianto was so fond of. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.” He was still speaking so blankly, so not like Ianto.

“What is it, Ianto?”

“I almost died,” he said flatly. “Just now. I saw my life in front of my eyes, Jack. I could feel it happening. I was dying. So close.” And with that Ianto’s eyes filled with tears and Jack embraced him tightly. Close to his heart he held Ianto’s head as he smoothed his hair comfortingly.

“I could have lost you,” Jack said with sudden clarity and realization overwhelming him. They sat there on that floor for a very long time. Both sobbing in the other’s arms. Once in a while, one of them would calm enough to comfort the other or pull the embrace tighter again, but it never lasted more than a few seconds. The tears they shed in that room could have filled the oceans.

Finally, hours later, Jack and Ianto had cried their eyes dry and were left sitting in a puddle of their own tears on the floor, embracing each other tightly. “Jack?” Ianto said, looking up with red eyes at the face that held him close. Jack looked back at Ianto and smiled gently. “When I thought I was dying. When I could feel it coming to get me. My lungs barely held enough breath to say one more thing,” he said with great feeling. Jack looked as though if there were any tears left to be shed, he would have started crying again. “And Jack,” Ianto continued. “There’s one thing I was going to say. I’d opened my mouth to say it when the Doctor showed up, but it never quite came out.” Jack held Ianto’s head in his arms and watched his lips as he spoke. “I love you.” A single tear fell from Jack’s eye at those words. Of course, this wasn’t news really. He knew how Ianto felt, but hearing him speak those words was painful.

“You shouldn’t do that,” Jack said sitting upright.

“But I do. And I want you to know, Jack,” he said sitting up as well. “I want you to know, because when I almost died, when I thought I was going to be dead. That’s what I wanted to say. I couldn’t die with you not knowing, and now I can’t live without you knowing beyond a shadow of any doubt in your mind that…I. Love. You.” Ianto emphasized each word as he spoke the phrase again. “Someday I am going to die, Jack.”

“Not for a very long time,” Jack interrupted with a great sniff.

“But until then,” Ianto said with a small smile. “I only want you. I want to spend as much time with you as I can, Jack. I can’t live this life without you anymore. I know that someday I’ll seem like barely a blip on your life, but for me. For my life, Jack. I want you.”

“You will never be a blip, Ianto Jones.”

“Someday when your 5 million years old. I don’t expect you to remember me, but while I’m here…”

He was interrupted again. “No, Ianto. I will always remember you. I could never forget you.” He put his hands firmly on Ianto’s shoulders. “Don’t you ever think, that for one minute I could ever even dream of even thinking about forgetting you. Until the day that you die, years and years from now, of old age, you have me, Ianto. I am here until you send me away.”

“Never then. You’re never going away,” Ianto said, his eyes beginning to water again. “I love you, Jack. And I know you don’t do relationships. I know that’s not you and I’m not going to ask you to change who you are for me. I’m lucky enough to even have some share of how wonderful you are for a small piece of your life. I just need to you know that I love you. With all my heart, Jack, I love you.”

“Ianto Jones,” Jack said with a smile crossing his lips. “For you? Anything might be possible.” And Jack took Ianto’s face in his hands and kissed him deeply and with passion. 

The kiss lasted for minutes or maybe it was hours, Ianto never could be quite sure when he was with Jack, but it was a kiss of pure unadulterated passion.

“Ianto Jones,” Jack said again with an even wider smile this time. And then with a very deep breath came the words Ianto was never expecting to hear. “I love you.” They kissed again. This one was sweeter, shorter, simpler. When they broke apart again, they held each other, staring into one another’s eyes.

Not two seconds later a familiar face burst through the door. “You two are alright? You’re alive?” Gwen smiled and fell to the floor, trying to catch her breath. Rhys caught up a moment later, gasping for air. He gave them a thumbs up as he slid to the floor next to his wife.

Ianto instinctively tried to back away from Jack. He was so used to hiding their relationship from everyone, even the other members of Torchwood, but not this time. Jack held him tighter as he spoke, “Why are you two so out of breath? What’s going on? What’s happened?”

Gwen and Rhys caught their breath in the same moment and looked over at Jack and Ianto. “Ran up the stairs as soon as they got the doors open,” Gwen said, her breathing slowly returning to normal.

“Didn’t want to waste time waiting for the elevator. Mind you the crowd trying to get out of this place was no picnic to get through the other way round,” Rhys said getting to his feet. “Neither of you was answering your phones. We thought something might have happened,” he added, helping Gwen to her feet.

“Oh,” Ianto said, going red in the face. “Sorry,” he mumbled, looking at Jack.

“And then, you didn’t come out with everyone else,” Gwen said approaching the place where Ianto and Jack were sitting. “We thought something must have happened, so we came to find you.”

Jack released Ianto at last and got nimbly to his feet, turning around to offer Ianto his hand the second he was upright. Ianto got to his feet, with Jack’s help and the four of them set off for the stairs. They’d gotten to floor eight before anyone spoke again; the silence broken only by the sounds of their footsteps.

“So, what happened?” Gwen asked. She couldn’t hide her concern any longer.

“I died,” Jack said flatly.

“You did?” Gwen nearly shouted, stopping where she was. “What happened, Jack? The whole story. We need to know.”

Jack smirked to himself. “Ianto got to see everything. I’ll let him explain.”

Ianto looked at Jack, and punched him in the arm with his free hand. Jack let go of Ianto’s hand which he had been holding and rubbed his shoulder in mock pain. “What was that for?” Ianto rolled his eyes and then began to explain. It took most of the walk back to the warehouse where they’d set up everything to tell the story.

“So,” Gwen said after soaking in everything Ianto had said. “The Doctor came. Saved you from dying, but didn’t stop to explain what’d happened to the 4-5-6?” She looked up at Jack who was pacing around the warehouse, his hands deep in his pockets.

“Saved, Ianto from dying. I still died, mind you.”

“Yeah, but you come back,” Gwen said. “How did you die anyway, Jack?”

“The glass they used to form the tank. It was bullet proof and very heavy. When the tank exploded, I dove to the ground,” Jack said eyeing Ianto. He didn’t know how far he could push his luck with the exposing their relationship secrets today. “And a piece of the glass hit me on the back. It cut deep.” He turned around showing them the blood stained back of his coat.

“The drycleaners are going to hate me,” Ianto said. “Not that they don’t already. You have a habit of dying in your clothes and it tends to get a bit bloody in the process.”

Gwen rolled her eyes at the nonchalance of the whole conversation. “I guess we’re just lucky Ianto didn’t get hit by any of it,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah, he won’t come back if he dies,” Rhys said punching Ianto’s shoulder jokingly.

“Wasn’t lucky,” Ianto mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Gwen said suspiciously. “Are you alright, Ianto? You didn’t get hit did you?”

“No. I couldn’t have,” he said, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“What do you mean then that it wasn’t lucky?” Rhys said. “Lucky to be alive, you are.”

“It wasn’t luck. Jack didn’t tell his part of the story right.”

Rhys and Gwen eyed Jack with suspicion as a smile broke out over Jack’s face and Ianto’s in response. “Didn’t know how much you wanted told,” said smiled at Ianto. “Go on then, you tell it the right way.”

“What happened?” Gwen’s eyes darted from Jack to Ianto and back again as she spoke.

“Jack said he dove to the floor, which I suppose is partially true. But it wasn’t out of fear for himself,” Ianto said smiling. “He dove over top of me as I lay dying in his arms from the virus the 4-5-6 had set off in the building.”

“You’re one life is worth more than all of my millions put together, Ianto,” Jack said, bending down to kiss Ianto’s forehead.

“But I was dying anyway, Jack. Didn’t matter if it was from glass or the virus. I was going to die,” Ianto said this as if he were still trying to convince himself of the fact, too. He seemed still unable to believe that he had come so close to death only to be saved by the mysterious Doctor with the changing face.

“But you didn’t, and that’s what matters, right?” Jack said. He paused his pacing behind the sofa where the other three were sitting, before quickly grabbing a chair from the table and pulling it over to sit facing them, nearest Ianto. “I don’t know how or why, but the Doctor saved you.” Almost as if on cue, the TARDIS could be heard materializing nearby.


	3. Spoilers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usually, River Song is very good about keeping her "spoilers" to herself, but not always. The look on the Doctor's face as she tells the stories of past and future is something she won't soon forget.

Jack jumped up from his chair and sprinted towards the door, but stopped halfway there and turned back. A wide grin broke over his face as he raced back towards the others. They all just stared at him wondering what was going on. “We’ll be back,” he said pointedly looking into Gwen’s eyes. Then he grabbed Ianto by the hand and pulled him to his feet. “Ianto, with me.” And together they ran from the warehouse and into the bright autumn sunlight. Jack turned the corner of the warehouse, pulling Ianto along behind him. Ianto had no idea what to think as Jack dragged him along.

As they came sprinting around the corner, the Doctor (or who Jack could only assume was the Doctor) wandered out of his TARDIS followed closely by a woman with very frizzy hair and then a young, pretty girl with dark hair. Jack, pulled Ianto back around the corner and peered around at the three, listening carefully. “What are you doing?” Ianto whispered.

“I’ve never seen any of them before. I’ve got to make sure it’s not an imposter or something.”

“Who in the universe arrives in a BRIGHT BLUE POLICE BOX, Jack,” Ianto said, trying to tug Jack around the corner. “That’s them. It’s them that saved us, so even if it’s not the Doctor, they’re good guys. I swear it’s them.”

“Shhhhhh,” Jack said, placing a finger to his lips and turning his head, but not his eyes towards Ianto. “Someone could have stolen the TARDIS, you never know. Just let me listen to them.” Ianto sighed heavily but stopped talking.

“Where are we?” the gangly man wearing a bow-tie asked the frizzy-haired woman.

“You’ve got to tell them what happened.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This warehouse,” said the frizzy-haired woman pointing to the building on her right, “once belonged to Torchwood One. It’s long since been abandoned and forgotten about. That is until Torchwood Three came to town a few days ago. They’ve set up their working and living quarters inside,” she stopped and eyed the man to make sure he understood her meaning before she continued. “You have to tell, Jack, Doctor. He needs to know.”

“But we changed time, River,” he was apparently still not 100% set on that being the right decision. “We can’t tell him that.”

“Why not?” she said impatiently. “They’re looking after the rift in Cardiff. They need to know that we messed with time. Rewrote something. It could affect the rift, Doctor. You know that.”

“But, River.” The longer it went on the more child-like the man sounded. And finally after five minutes of arguing he gave in. “But he won’t recognize me. At least I don’t think he will. Unless future me’s seen past him at some point.”

“No. He won’t recognize you. Last he saw you, the Daleks had stuck Earth off in the Medusa Cascade,” she said, patting his shoulder gingerly.

“And you know this how?”

“Spoilers,” she said. 

The girl with the dark hair spoke for the first time at this. “What do you mean spoilers? You keep using that word. I don’t understand.” She looked from the frizzy-haired woman to the man.

“Clara,” the man said, as if he’d forgotten she was there at all. He wheeled around to face the dark-haired girl. “River Song,” he indicated the frizzy-haired woman, “is my wife. She is also only partially human.”

“I was conceived onboard the TARDIS while in mid-flight. It put some very unique qualities into my genetic code,” River clarified, stepping around the Doctor who had cut her off as he turned to face Clara.

“You – were conceived – onboard this” she pointed to the blue box “TARDIS – while it was in mid-flight.” River nodded. “Who…who are your parents?”

River smiled, but the Doctor look as though both his hearts had just been torn in two. The Doctor mumbled something that Jack and Ianto could not hear, but River spoke clearly as she said, “My parents were very dear friends of the Doctor’s. For many years of his life and theirs, but they’re gone now.”

“What happened to them?” Clara asked, looking at the Doctors face which was construed in painful grief-induced agony. He mumbled something again.

“The weeping angels,” River said. 

It was then that Jack grasped Ianto’s hand again and pulled him around the corner and toward the threesome. “Weeping angels?” Jack said approaching them. “Where? When?”

“New York, a few years from now,” River said. She looked up as Jack and Ianto approach, though she seemed strangely unsurprised at their appearance. She smiled and stepped towards the Doctor to allow them to join the small circle. Clara and the Doctor were both staring at Jack and Ianto, both clearly much more surprised with their sudden appearance than River had been. Nevertheless River continued her story.

“The Doctor and my parents had gone to New York on a casual visit. They had a picnic lunch in Central Park and my father went to get coffees while the Doctor and my mother sat in the park, reading a very exciting novel,” River smiled proudly. “I wrote the book they were reading,” she whispered to Jack and Ianto before continuing. “Unlucky for Dad, he ran into a very young angel on his journey. Lucky for him, he ended up in the 1930s where I happened to also be at the time. He got locked in a basement with more of the young angels while I was questioned by the man in charge,” she eyed the Doctor in his sadness while she spoke. “I managed to communicate with the Doctor and set up a homing beacon so he could land in the TARDIS in that time, which would have otherwise been impossible due to the very unusual time distortions in that city. The angels took Dad again when we got back to 2012, but this time it was only in space not time. When we found him he was in an apartment watching a very elderly version of himself, dying. The older version of my father, called my mother to him. My parents refused to accept this fate as their own, and the Doctor and I agreed to distract the angels so they could escape. They ran to the rooftop. Just as the Doctor and I arrived, they jumped.”

“Why?” Clara said suddenly.

“The Statue of Liberty, you see. It was an oversized angel and it had cornered them there.” The look on Clara’s face was pure horror. Jack’s wasn’t much better.

Ianto on the other hand… “I don’t understand. What do these ‘angels’ do exactly?”

“They kill you,” Jack said, turning to Ianto. “By making you live to death.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They transport you to a different time and place and you’re stuck there, forever,” Jack said turning back to River, who continued the story.

“When they jumped, they created a paradox and we all landed in a graveyard in Brooklyn in 2012 again,” she said with a tenuous smile. “Just as we arrived, my father saw a gravestone. With his name on it and moments later was taken, for a third time.” She paused, looking at the Doctor who had taken a handkerchief from his pocket to dab the tears from his eyes. “Mother stopped and asked us if we could just go and fetch Dad, but we couldn’t.”

“Why not? The angels just took him to a different time, right? And you had the TARDIS,” Jack persisted.

The Doctor burst out in tears of agony. “The TARDIS can never go back to New York. It’s a paradox waiting to happen,” he said through his sobs.

“Oh,” Jack looked down at his wrist, rubbing the spot where his vortex manipulator should be. River smiled to herself as he did this.

“Looking for yours?” she asked. She pulled her vortex manipulator off her wrist and held it up.

“Where’d you get that? Who are you?” Jack forced Ianto behind him and backed up slowly.

“What’s going on, Jack? What’s what does she have?”

“It’s a vortex manipulator. Like the one Grey and John were using,” Jack eyed the Doctor and then River.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she said, putting it back on her wrist. “I’ve bought this one. Off a blue fellow in a bar, centuries from now. I needed time travel and this was cheap and easy.”

“Where’d he get it from?”

“Told me it was ‘fresh off the wrist of a handsome time agent’.”

“When?”

“I don’t know the date, Jack,” she smiled at him.

“Long as it’s not mine,” he said, pulling Ianto from behind him and stepping forward again.

“Can’t make any promises, but yours that’s currently yours should still be in the rubble of the Hub in Cardiff.”

“How do you know that?” Jack was getting worried again.

“You told me,” she said. Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, her hand snapped up to cover it. “I should not have said that. Spoilers, Jack, spoilers.”

“I told you?”

“Yes,” River nodded.

“When?”

“The future,” she said uneasily, “Yours not mine, of course.”

“When in the future?” Jack persisted.

“Six months from now.”

“I have to remember to do this now, so you’ve got to be more specific,” Jack said.

“Why did I tell you?” she said to herself. She was struggling to remember. “Intergalactic Bar, you were there drinking and you just came over to me and told me these things. It was a Saturday in late March.”

“That’s better,” he nodded, obviously satisfied with this answer. “Now, your parents. I’m sorry I interrupted your story.” Jack eyed the Doctor carefully as he said this.

“It’s alright. I’m sorry I said anything. I’m usually so good about the spoilers,” River looked at the Doctor’s sad eyes and continued the heart-wrenching tale. “Once we’d told my mother that Dad was stuck in whatever time that angel had sent him back to and that he had died and was buried where she stood, she made her decision that it was worth blinking in the face of an angel if it meant she could see her husband once more. So she said her good-byes and turned to face us one last time, the angel acting as she turned her back on it.”

“That’s horrible,” Ianto said, his eyes getting slightly teary at the thought.

“So then I went back and found where they were in time. I wrote the book about the events that the Doctor and my mother had been reading in the park and sent it to my mother to be published. She wrote an afterword for him, telling him about their life in New York.” As she spoke, the Doctor reached into the inside pocket of his tweed jacket and pulled out a crumpled, very old piece of paper and sniffed. River smiled at him and he handed the paper to Jack who read the heart-felt letter. Ianto read over Jack’s right shoulder and Clara over his left. When they’d finished, they looked up at the Doctor and River.

“That’s good then, yeah?” Clara said, looking from one to the other. “They were together all their lives then. Happy.”

“They really are quite happy,” River said, patting her vortex manipulator with a smile. “The TARDIS may not be able to get back into New York, but this can.”

The five of them, stood there for a long while. Talking about life and getting caught up with each other’s stories. Every couple minutes or so, Jack would give Ianto one of his signature smoldering looks and kissed his lips briefly, and each time Ianto’s face would turn bright red as everyone looked. Clara had taken to trying to flirt with Jack in the beginning. That’s what started it the first time. Finally the mood had lightened and the talk turned from serious to more comical matters.

“Now, Doctor,” Jack said turning to the gangly man with a smile. “What in the name of Gallifrey are you wearing?” he said pointing to the Doctor’s neck.

“It’s a bow-tie, Jack. Bow-ties are cool!”

“Gallifrey? What’s Gallifrey?” Clara asked turning to River.

“Gallifrey was the home-planet of the Timelords,” River said solemnly. “It was destroyed in the last great time war,” she finished in a whisper.

Jack wasn’t paying attention to them. “And what in the name of New Earth have you done with your face?”

“I regenerated, Jack. I can’t control it!” the Doctor said angrily. “Almost lost the TARDIS with one, too,” he said motioning to the blue box. “But anyway,” he said, suddenly calmer. “There’s something I apparently need to tell you about,” he eyed River as he said this.

“You do need to tell him, Doctor.”

“Fine,” the Doctor said stubbornly. “When we saved you, or well saved Ianto and the others earlier. We were rewriting time. River came and found Clara,” he motion to the dark-haired girl “and me in Spain in 1492. We’d just finished helping Christopher Columbus get his charter to the new world when she showed up and told us she wanted our help with something in the early 21st century.”

“Thank you,” Jack said looking at River.

“Thank yourself,” River said, laughing. “You told me about that, too.” Jack’s eyes went wide. So much remembering to do. “Oops, spoilers,” she said, slapping her hand to her mouth again.

“Anyway,” the Doctor said rolling his eyes, “River told us all about the 4-5-6 and what you did the first time they were here. And what you were going to do this time to stop them from doing it again. And we just couldn’t let that happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“What was I going to do?”

River’s mouth quivered with speech for a moment. “You told me everything in the bar that night. You were there for a second night in a row. The night before will never happen now, but you told me about it, so I guess I should tell you, because now that you know you told me this, it sort of has to happen. We don’t need any more paradoxes.”

“What are you on about?” Jack said, eyeing River with suspicion.

“Maybe it would be better if we talked inside,” she said motioning to the TARDIS. The Doctor opened the doors with a snap of his fingers and they all entered.

Just as Ianto was about to step over the threshold he paused. “But I don’t understand,” he said peering through the doors. “It’s bigger on the inside.” Jack laughed and pulled Ianto through the doors allowing them to shut behind.

“That’s why I brought you along,” Jack remarked. “I wanted you to see this,” he said gesturing grandly. “Though,” he added looking around, “you’ve redecorated since I’ve been in here last.”

“Yeah, what do you think?” the Doctor said proudly.

“It’s a lot cleaner. A lot more modern,” Jack said still looking around. “But I like it.”

“Thanks,” the Doctor said blushing as River tapped her toe impatiently.

“River,” Jack said sitting near the console and pulling Ianto down to the floor with him. “What do I need to know?” he asked. “Keep notes. I’ve got to remember all this,” he said quietly to Ianto.

“Is he your secretary or your boyfriend?” the Doctor said suddenly.

“Both,” Ianto said rather more loudly that he anticipated. “I’m both.”

“Yeah, both,” Jack said, kissing Ianto’s cheek.

“Anyway,” River said even more impatiently. “You told me the whole story up until the moment I walked in.”

“Oh,” Jack said eyeing Ianto. “Notes.”

“I’ve got it, sir,” Ianto said, pulling a pen and a small notepad from his suit jacket pocket.

“I’ve told you before, Ianto,” Jack said with a smile. “You can drop the ‘sir’.” He kissed Ianto’s ear and then looked up at River. She seemed to be getting more and more impatient with every second that passed. “I’m sorry, please, continue,” he said offering one of his most charming smiles.

The smile worked, if only slightly, and River continued her story. She told him everything he’d mentioned about the 4-5-6 from 1965 and 2009. She told him everything including how Ianto had died in his arms and how he’d had to use Steven to transmit the signal, thereby killing his grandson to save the world. And she finally concluded by telling him that he’d traveled the Earth alone, looking for a new life for six months after Ianto’s funeral. Until one day when he returned to Wales and called Gwen and Rhys to him on a hillside overlooking Cardiff city. And there, Gwen returned to him his vortex manipulator which had been recovered from the ruins of the Hub in a brand new armband she’d sewn him. And how he’d left Earth still broken and arrived on a resort planet only to be sitting at the bar, when a familiar face arrived. The previous incarnation of the Doctor, the one Jack knew, had arrived and passed him a note through the bartender while he had been trying to drink his sorrows down at the loss of his team (especially Ianto). And then she told him how the note had given him the name of the sailor sitting to his left and how the Doctor had nodded encouragingly and then left the bar.

“I remember that day!” the Doctor said suddenly. “That was right before I regenerated. My last trip. Visiting all my old friends. My reward,” he was suddenly somber. “The last night I saw Rose,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Rose Tyler?” River questioned.

“The very same,” the Doctor mumbled.

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” River said with the weight of his sadness on her heart. “But Jack. The note, you showed it to me, so you’ll have to go and pretend to be sad for the past Doctor or something.”

“Can’t I rewrite some history, too?” Jack said looking at the Doctor.

“Only if you’re careful,” River said before the Doctor could answer. “And do remember that since we rewrote something here, the rift may be more active than normal in the next few days. Please keep an eye on it.”

“That’s what we always do,” Jack said with a smile. “We’ll have to tell Gwen and Rhys about it, too, so they know to keep an eye out for extra activity. Speaking of which,” he looked at Ianto’s face, “we should get back in there before they think we’ve left them.” Ianto nodded and Jack got nimbly to his feet and offered his hand to Ianto and together they walked towards the doors of the TARDIS

“Oh,” Jack said as he reached for the doors. “River?”

“Yes?” she said, surprised.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile, leading Ianto from the TARDIS by the hand.

River smiled in their direction, then walked over to the console. She and the Doctor watch Jack and Ianto waving in the camera and then set the TARDIS into motion again.

Jack and Ianto waved until the TARDIS had gone. Then, they stopped and looked at one another with a smile. 

“What did you thank, River for?” Ianto asked curiously.

“She’s going to come a visit in a couple week after I’ve found the vortex manipulator and fix it for me,” he said with a smile. “The Doctor has this habit of fixing it so it doesn’t do anything fun anymore like teleporting and time travel.”

Ianto’s face fell. “Why? You going somewhere?”

Jack smiled, wrapping his arms around Ianto and looking up at the sky. It was just after dark and the stars were beginning to appear overhead. “Do you see those stars, Ianto Jones?”

Ianto nodded, looking upwards.

“We’re going to go visit a few. It’s about time you knew my story. The whole story,” Jack said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were wondering what the doctor was mumbling to himself it was one simple word. "Ponds."


	4. His Lost Childhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the information for Jack's stories (in this chapter and future ones) comes from his profile/biography on the TARDIS wiki and some other sources so most of it isn't mine and I don't claim ownership.

“I don’t remember a lot of my childhood,” Jack said finally, “but I want to tell you what I do.” Jack had taken Ianto to a distant plan which he hadn’t mentioned the name of. They were having a nice meal at one of the local restaurants. The food was unlike that of Earth, but it was delicious and confusing. Jack had refused to tell Ianto what he was eating until after he’d tried it for fear he would refuse to eat anything at all. After he’d tried the food, Ianto decided it was best to keep the ingredients a secret permanently. Jack had paused and looked like he was one the verge of speech again when Ianto spoke instead.

“Jack?”

“What is it?”

“I was just wondering,” Ianto said. He wasn’t sure it was the best idea ever to ask the question, but curiosity got the best of him. “Why are you telling me all this? You don’t have to.”

Jack smiled gently at Ianto and reached out to touch his cheek with the back of his hand. “I don’t have to, I know that. I’m telling you, because you once told me that you’ve told me everything there is to know about you and I realized that not one person in this universe knows my story and it gets awfully lonely not have anyone to talk to when you’re never going to die.”

“But I’ll only be here for a short time, Jack. At least in comparison with you. I can’t live forever,” Ianto said. Jack looked confused. “I just mean. Why me, Jack? Why are you telling me?”

“Who else would I tell, Ianto?” Jack was beginning to understand what Ianto was trying to say. “I trust you more than anyone else.”

“More than,” Ianto paused. “More than…the Doctor?”

Jack smiled at Ianto. “More than anyone, Ianto. Even him. How much time have we spent apart in the past two weeks, Ianto?”

Ianto was quiet. He thought though the entire span since the day the Doctor has saved him from certain death. The only time he and Jack hadn’t been in the same room was last Tuesday. River came to fix the teleport and time travel feature on Jack’s vortex manipulator and Ianto had gone to his sister’s house for the afternoon. “Four hours. Last Tuesday afternoon,” Ianto said quietly.

“And whose choice was that?”

Ianto thought again. Jack had not only told Ianto he could stay, but when Ianto said he was going to visit his sister, Jack had offered to accompany him after River had finished. Ianto had told him not to. He didn’t need Johnny acting a fool with Jack there, too. “Mine,” Ianto whispered with a pang of regret filling his voice. Jack noticed.

“What’s wrong?” Jack said switching sides of the table and sliding into the booth next to Ianto rather than across form him. He put his arm around Ianto’s shoulders and kissed his cheek tenderly. “What is it?”

“I’m sorry,” Ianto mumbled. He didn’t look up towards Jack as he spoke. He stared at the empty plate in front of him.

“Why are you sorry?” Jack said. He tried, unsuccessfully to lure Ianto’s eyes to him.

“I should have let you come. You let me come when you went to get Alice and Steven out of that place. If you can let me meet your daughter and your grandson,” he paused and finally looked up at Jack. Tears had filled his eyes and were slowly trickling down his face. “I should have let you meet Rhia and Johnny and the kids.”

“There will be time when we get back, Ian,” Jack said rubbing Ianto’s shoulder. “We promised Gwen we’d be back for the birth, remember?” Ianto nodded and half-smiled. “We can’t spend forever travelling the universe no matter how fun that would be.”

“I know. I just,” Ianto couldn’t’ seem to find the right words to express how he felt at that moment. He put his forehead against Jack’s shoulder as he mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

Jack wrapped his other arm around Ianto’s back and kissed the top of his head tenderly. “It’ll be okay, Ian. I promise it will.” Ianto sighed deeply and looked up at Jack’s face with a weak smile tugging at his lips.

“I’m still sorry,” he said. “But I’m also sorry that I interrupted you. You were going to say something earlier, weren’t you?”

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. He smiled at Ianto and kissed his lips lightly once. “Yes.”

“Well what was it then?” Ianto said, trying to look as though he was giving Jack his full attention. “I’m all ears.”

“I want to tell you,” Jack started, “about my childhood. I’m not sure how old I am anymore and I’m not sure I want to know. And I don’t know how many times I’ve died, and I’m not sure I want to know that either. But, I was only born once,” he said with a smile. Ianto offered a small smile in return as Jack continued. “It was late November 5094, autumn on the Boeshane Peninsula.”

“Where’s that?”

Jack smiled. “It’s where we are,” he said as he gestured around the diner. “This is the Boeshane Peninsula in 5028. Before I was born. It wouldn’t be safe to come here when I was a child. It’s such a tiny place someone would recognize me for sure, but it wasn’t founded much before now. My parents were some of the first humans to be born here. My grandparents came on the shuttle from Earth in 5017, both sets of them. I’ve never met any of them though.”

Ianto frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Don’t be,” Jack said calmly patting Ianto’s shoulder. He pulled out some funny looking money and left it on the table before standing up and offering Ianto his hand. “Shall we?” Ianto took Jack’s hand and stood up. Jack led the way from the small diner into the busy town center as he continued his story. “My brother, Gray, you’ve met him,” he added with a small smile, “was born three years after I was. And growing up here in Boe was the greatest. School,” he said indicating a large brick building to the left, “the market,” he gestured around the square where the townspeople were selling all sorts of strange things that Ianto had never seen before in his life. “Dad would take Gray and me to this park,” he said as he opened the gate, “and we’d play cricket for hours and hours until it got dark and Mom would call us home for dinner. She was a great cook, my mom, all the great Boe dishes,” Jack smiled over at Ianto and took his hand as they walked towards the ocean which was just across a wide sandy beach. “And in the summers after dinner, we would go outside and Dad would light a campfire in the backyard and we’d sing songs until we were all too tired to continue. But that all ended the summer when I was 13.” Jack’s face fell. “That part I think you’ve heard.”

“What was it that came here though? Or that will come here?”

“Aliens,” Jack said, his face fell with the word. “Something I’d never seen before and something I hope to never see again. They rampaged the whole area. Gray and I were running, running for our lives, like Dad had told us. And his hand slipped and I thought he was right behind me. And then, we made it here and the aliens had gone. I turned around and my brother was gone. I ran the whole way home calling his name the whole time. When I finally made it back,” Jack pulled a small package (no bigger than an inch square) from his coat pocket and opened it up with his teeth. Inside was a blanket big enough for the both of them to share.

“How’d that fit in there?” Ianto said gaping as Jack laid the blanket on the sandy shore near the water.

“Condensed packaging,” Jack said with a smile. “Only expands when it comes into contact with the air. Really handy for long trips when you don’t have much room to pack. Too bad they won’t invent it on Earth for another couple centuries,” he added with a laugh. “Anyway,” he said as they sat on the blanket together. “Where was I?” He seemed to think to himself for a moment before continuing the tale of his childhood. “When I finally made it home, the first thing I saw was my father. He was on the ground, his face in the sand,” he took a lengthy pause before he spoke the word, “dead.”

“I’m so sorry, Jack,” Ianto said. He looked at Jack’s face with remorseful eyes.

Jack shook his head. “Don’t be.” Jack smiled and continued. “My mother came out of the house moments later and hugged me tight. Then she looked around and ask me where Gray was. That was the moment I knew I had lost my little brother. I spent the next three years searching for him every moment I wasn’t in school or eating or sleeping.” Jack looked out at the ocean waves crashing against the sandy shores of his youth.

“You don’t have to continue,” Ianto said looking at Jack’s face. “It’s all right if you want to stop.”

Jack smiled at Ianto. “Soon,” he said. “When I’ve finished the story here.” Jack looked up at the sky. He got to his feet, but when Ianto tried to follow he held out his hand, “No. I just want to take the coat off,” he said with a smile. “It’s getting rather warm.” Jack took off his coat and drop it on the blanket next to him. While he was standing he kicked off his shoes next to the blanket as well. He sat back on the blank and removed his socks and unbuttoned a few of his shirt buttons before laying back on the blanket, flat on his back. Ianto didn’t stand, but he, too removed his jack, shoes, and socks. Ianto also removed his tie and unbuttoned a few shirt buttons before laying his head on Jack’s chest and listening to the motion of his chest as he told the remaining story.

“When I was sixteen,” Jack continued, stroking Ianto’s hair as he spoke, “another race invaded. I do not know their name, but they were horrible creatures. I convinced my friend to join up with me in the fight against them, but in the end we were captured. They thought my friend weaker than I, so they tortured him and made me watch. Then they let me go to bear the guilt of his fate. I came home. Here to Boe for the last time after that. I couldn’t look my other friends or any of their parents in the eyes ever again. That’s when they started recruiting for the Time Agency, so when I was eighteen I joined. I was the first from the Boeshane Peninsula to join the agency. They made me a sort of poster-boy. Gave me the nickname ‘Face of Boe’,” he concluded with a smile. Jack kissed the top of Ianto’s head and smiled again. “And that’s where I’ll leave off for today. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the inner planets and tell you about the Agency and my time there.” Ianto didn’t say anything which worried Jack. “Unless you didn’t want to hear,” Jack said quickly. “I’m sorry. Have I upset you?”

“No, Jack, no,” Ianto said suddenly. “I like this.” He lifted his head and put a hand down on either side of Jack’s torso. “I like hearing about you. I really do.” And Ianto smiled, but before he could say another word, Jack sat up and kissed him with a great vigorous passion. Once they were both thoroughly out of breath from kissing, they broke apart. Through great gasps for air, Ianto managed to make a coherent thought, “We should probably find somewhere to stay tonight.”

Jack winked at Ianto and got to his feet, offering Ianto his hand. They both picked up their extra clothes and Jack picked up the blanket and programmed the vortex manipulator again. “Ready?” he said with a smile.

“Ready,” Ianto quipped. He put his hand on Jack’s and Jack pressed the button that sent them across the universe in an instant. “Where are we now?” Ianto said looking around.

“Welcome to New New York on New Earth,” Jack said waving his arm in the direction of a sprawling city just across a river from the meadow where they were standing. “Just getting started, but teeming with human life already. I’ve got us a room at the Five Seasons.”

“I thought it was the Four Seasons?” Ianto said surprised.

“No, that’s what they are on Earth. This,” he gestured grandly again, “is New Earth. Whole different time period.” He took Ianto by the hand they walked toward the road where Jack hailed a taxi which took them to their destination. Once they were all checked in, they made their way to the very top floor to a room with the view of a life time. There were vehicles like none Ianto had ever seen before flying and driving every which direction, but none of them were as high as their window. “Private,” Jack said looking over Ianto’s shoulder and down towards the traffic. “The cars can’t fly this high,” he added with a smile. 

Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto’s waist from behind and kissed the back of his neck. Ianto smiled at the seemingly futuristic, yet somehow normal buzz of everyday life below them. “This is amazing,” he said turning around in Jack’s arms.

“You’re amazing,” Jack said with a lustful smile. And soon they found themselves unclothed and partaking in their normal shenanigans. And finally they found themselves (still unclothed, mind you) under the covers in the very large king-sized bed, snuggled close together and dreaming glorious dreams of the future.


	5. A Chance Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contain explicit recounting (from Jack's perspective) of the episode "Captain Jack Harkness" from Torchwood and the two-part special "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" from Doctor Who.

When Jack woke the next morning, it was before Ianto. He looked at Ianto’s angelic sleeping face and smiled to himself. He then laid his head on Ianto’s chest and listened to his steady breathing and heartbeat for close to an hour before Ianto too was awake. When Ianto did awake, he opened his eyes and immediately smiled. He could feel his heart beating faster and knew Jack would notice and sure enough, Jack did.

Jack lifted his head and put a hand on either side of Ianto’s torso (much as Ianto had done to Jack on the beach the day before). They smiled at each other and kissed a few times before either spoke. “So where to today?” Ianto said as they sat up, stretching.

“We can’t actually go to the time agency. They’ve got a price out on my head,” Jack looked slightly worried at this thought. “But we can go to one of the inner planets where we can see the agency.”

“We don’t have to!” Ianto said immediately. “I don’t want you to be in danger.”

“It’s alright,” Jack said, as he looked up from buttoning his shirt. “Where we’re going they won’t even notice us.” He smiled and they continued getting dressed. When they were finally ready to go, Jack slipped his coat on and Ianto straightened his tie and they walked out of the room towards the lift together. After checking out of the hotel and having some breakfast at a coffee shop around the corner, Jack and Ianto made their way back to meadow across the river. “Ready?” Jack said as he reset the vortex manipulator.

“Ready,” Ianto said with a wide smile as he reached for Jack’s hand. Jack took Ianto’s hand in his and press the button that sent them once again across the universe in no time at all. They landed with their feet firmly planted on the ground of a green jungle-like planet. Jack led Ianto by the hand down a narrow path towards the edge of the forest. Once they exited the dense jungle, Ianto could see a sprawling lake with a grassy shore at the opposite side of a wide meadow. On the opposite shore of the lake, there was a stately white building.

“That’s the agency,” Jack said, indicating the building as they approach the lakeside. Ianto stopped and pulled slightly on Jack’s hand, edging back towards the tree line.

“Won’t they see us here then?” Ianto asked nervously.

“No,” Jack said with a smile. “They can’t.”

“How not?” Ianto didn’t quite believe Jack. Something wasn’t adding up.

Jack laughed casually. “Perception filter. This lake looks like an ocean from the agency complex. Only a few people have ever figured it out.” He pulled another small package from his coat pocket and opened it with his teeth. It again revealed a large blanket which he spread on the grassy shore. Once Jack and Ianto were comfortable seated on the blanket, Jack began his story again.

“I was eighteen and the allure of the agency was grand. We were trained to do the good work. Recovering things from all of time and space. We got these,” he said as he pointed to his vortex manipulator. “We worked in pairs. John Hart and I were partners, because I was the only one to put him in his place. Our very first field mission got us stuck in a two-week time loop that lasted for five years.”

“What does that mean?” Ianto said curiously looking up at Jack’s face.

“We lived the same two weeks on repeat for five years and we were the only people who noticed it was happening. We become something like a married couple.” Jack saw a note of jealousy over Ianto’s face. “But it came to an abrupt halt one day when we finally escaped the loop and returned here. I discovered that I had aged not six years as you would believe since joining, but eight when I looked at the date of our return. Two years had promptly gone missing from my life and I wanted them back. I found out that this was something the agency did often. Made you forget your dealings because they’d been too top secret.” The jealousy on Ianto’s face had changed to remorse. “I still don’t know what happened, but I left the agency, went rogue. I became a con-artist.”

“Why?” Ianto said curiously. “Why did you do that?”

“Not for the money. I wanted the agency to realize I was a threat and give me my memories back. It never worked.” He said looking down. “Anyway, I was off to the London Blitz. It was early 1941 and I needed a new name. It was too dangerous to pull cons under my former name. The agency would know me. They would warn the agents against me. Then an opportunitiy presented itself and I couldn’t say no. Captain Jack Harkness, an American volunteer in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He died in battle over Cardiff as the Germans tried to attack on January 21st. I never met him in person until a few years ago.”

“You took the name of a man you’d never met? Why?”

“Because I needed a name, and he died a hero’s death. It was convenient and once I’d met him it worked out well, but I’d used his name for centuries before that happened.”

“How then?”

“Do you remember when Tosh and I got stuck in 1941 by the rift? Down at the Ritz?”

Ianto racked his memory for a moment before he found it, hidden in a long closed drawer of things that usually hurt too much to think about. In that drawer were memories of all the times he’d though he was losing Jack. The memory of losing Lisa. And others. “Yes,” he said finally. “The old caretaker wasn’t it? What about it?”

“The date was January 20th. The Ritz was full of Air Force men, including Captain Jack Harkness. He was gorgeous.” The look of jealousy returned to Ianto’s face, but this time Jack didn’t seem to notice. He was lost in his own memories. “We talked. I fell in love.” Ianto’s jealousy raged. “His girlfriend soon joined us. She made to leaving, hoping he would follow. He didn’t at first, but I told him he should kiss her goodnight, because he never could know what the morning was bringing. I couldn’t tell him out right, but I didn’t want him to lose his chance. He took my advice and she said she loved him.” Jack looked down at his hands in his lap. “That made it worse. That’s not what he wanted. We stood on the stairs for a while, trading war stories. Not long after there was an air-raid and the sirens blared. He told me he was scared and we moved to a table for a more private conversation. I think that’s when he started to realize I knew more than I was letting on. He went to catch the girl.” Jack looked up and smiled at Ianto slightly. Ianto could decide if he was still jealous or if he was now just feeling bad for the real Captain Jack Harkness. 

“I sat in the corner of the room and mulled over my thoughts,” Jack continued. “Jack returned, not too long after he’d left and he came to join me at the table. We were holding hands and a couple came to interrupt us. I offered to go elsewhere, but he didn’t want to and it broke my heart.” Jealous. Ianto was definitely still jealous.

“I found Tosh by the edge of the dance floor and we talked. I told her what would happen to Jack and his men the next day.”

“What happened?” Ianto asked, still jealous if only just.

“They were having routine training, flying over Cardiff bay. They were surprised by the German Messerschmitt. He killed three of them before his plane exploded, killing him. The rest of his men made it back to ground safely. I told Tosh that someone brought me back to life once and didn’t tell her at the time, but sort of skirted around my inability to die since. I promised I’d protect her, but there was nothing to be done for Jack.” His face fell as he spoke, and Ianto’s started to mimic the decent.

“The next song,” Jack continued. His face lifted slightly at the memory and jealousy seeped back into Ianto’s expression. “He returned. He asked me to dance and we danced. We kissed and at that particular moment. You lot finally got that rift opened up!” Jack laughed. “And Tosh went to it and begged me to follow and I had to tell Jack good-bye, but I kissed him once more before I left forever. We stepped into the rift. He saluted and was gone. And there was Gwen, throwing herself at us, all a flutter.” Jack laughed and Ianto joined him this time.

“I’m sorry about what happened to Jack,” Ianto said, laying his head on his Jack’s shoulder. “What was your name,” he said suddenly, “before?”

“If I told you, you would be in danger. You’re better off not knowing or I would tell you. I promise I would,” Jack said looking into Ianto’s eyes. “I promise, I would tell you if I could.”

“Alright,” Ianto resigned. “So you took Jack’s name? What happened after that?”

“The business model I planned, came to fruition when I met a Chula woman.”

“What’s a Chula?”

“An alien race. She was a mighty beauty.” There was that twinge of jealousy again. “I borrowed her ship. Told her I’d be back in five minutes. It was fit for human life and could turn invisible and travel through time. It was perfect,” he said with a smile. “And it was towing an ambulance, which I happily used for my next con.” He paused at the memory and laughed at his own stupidity. “I saw a ship coming. I sent them a message. I thought they were Time Agents. I was wrong. They followed the ambulance through the vortex and right into the center of the London Blitz.”

“And what happened?”

“That’s the day I met the Doctor. Though I met his companion first.”

“Oh no,” Ianto said shaking his head, trying not to laugh. Jack nodded as a smirk appeared on his face. “You didn’t?”

“I did.”

“You. Tried to con. The Doctor?” Ianto laughed.

“Yeah,” Jack said thought giggles. “Not something I recommend doing.”

“I should think not,” Ianto said, trying to calm himself.

Jack managed to regain his composure and continue his story. “Well, Rose Tyler. Blonde, 18, Londoner from 2005, wearing a blazing union jack across her shirt found herself hanging from the rope tied to a barrage balloon. Lucky for her,” he said with a smirk. “I had an invisible spaceship open and waiting to catch her when she fell. I caught her and put her on her feet inside the ship. I recognized that she wasn’t from the current time, so I flirted my way into trying to sell her the ship. We danced in front of the face of Big Ben on top an invisible space ship. Eventually, she somehow convinced me to take her to her ‘partner’, better known as the Doctor. On the way I told her I had a Chula warship that was going to be destroyed by a bomb in two hours’ time.”

“This can’t have ended well,” Ianto said, covering his eyes and trying not to laugh at Jack’s horrible life choice.

“We got to the hospital just in time to save the Doctor from Dr. Constantine (who had just become one of them) and a hospital full of patients with gas mask faces. I tried to sell him the ship again. He didn’t bite. He knew I was lying somehow and I told him the truth and I told him that it had nothing to do with what was happening, but I was wrong. A group of them cornered the three of us again a wall in one of the wards. Luckily,” he said with a smile. “The Doctor was quick on his feet. He very sternly told them to go to their room and that he was very cross. It worked. They all went back to their beds and we were free. I sat at the desk in the middle of the room while the Doctor eyed me angrily and Rose walked to one of the patient’s bedsides. Now the scariest part,” Jack told Ianto with a smirk.

“Scary? I work for Torchwood, Jack,” Ianto quipped. “Nothing is scary anymore.”

“If you insist,” Jack smirked as he continued. “We found the child’s room at the hospital and we found a recording of Dr. Constantine talking with him. It was eery. Something was wrong. By the time we figured it out the child was in the room. We had to blast our way out with my sonic blaster. Hole in the wall then the ceiling then the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to open a door, trapping us in a tiny office. I used my emergency teleport to get back to my ship and after rigging something in the console I managed to teleport them to me. We reached the bomb site not too soon and found the mother of the child handcuffed to a table in a small shed with one of the guards who had turned into a gasmask person. She had lulled him to sleep with a lullaby.” Jack paused, watching Ianto’s expressions. “We saved her and the Doctor saved the world, but fixing what had happened. You see. The ship I’d crashed there was a Chula medical ship. It contained nanogenes which fix you when you’re hurt. The first living thing they found was the boy with the gas mask on, so they ‘fixed’ everyone to be like him, but when the mother and child hugged, they nanogenes recognized the DNA similarities and set everything straight. I on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.”

“What happened? Did you die?” Had anyone that didn’t know Jack Harkness very well heard that question, it wouldn’t have made much sense. But Jack’s immortal had become common place among the team at Torchwood Three. Jack died all the time and every time he came back, gasping for air, but he came back.

“Ianto,” he said softly, touching the man’s cheek as he spoke. “If I had died that day. I would not be here with you now.”

Ianto looked at him like he’d gone crazy. “Talking a load of rubbish, you are,” Ianto said. The anger of Wales brewing beneath the skin in his face. “You die. You come back. That’s how it goes. That’s how it always goes.”

“Not then. Not just yet,” Jack said. He kissed Ianto’s lips lightly once before finishing the story. “Thought I really thought I might die. I couldn’t it was too soon. I wasn’t what I am now yet. I was merely a mortal human like everyone else,” Jack said with a small smile. Deep in his heart he longed for those days once more. “But the Doctor and Rose, they saved my life in more ways than one. They landed the TARDIS on the doorstep of my ship and welcomed me aboard with open arms. I pulled the bomb far enough into space that it wasn’t going to hurt anyone, except me. Then they showed up and we were off. My ship was gone, but I was alive and I was with the Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS, off to travel the whole of space and time.”

When Jack had finished he looked down at Ianto’s face in his hands and kissed his lips again. Ianto smiled and put his arms around Jack’s neck as he tackled him to the blanket.


	6. Adventures in Time and Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's adventures with the ninth doctor and Rose Tyler up to and including "The Parting of the Ways."

Jack and Ianto spent the night back on Earth (the original one). It was the late 1930s and London was bustling with a classic charm that had been missing in 2009 when last they left. The Strand Palace Hotel however, looked much the same, from the outside at least. The interior was decorated in the contemporary (for the time anyway) Art Deco fashions. When they woke the next morning, Jack again took Ianto to a new location, but this one was nowhere near as exciting as the previous two. Cardiff, Wales. Early October 2006.

“But we’re in bloody, Cardiff, Jack. What are we doing here?” Ianto said looking around him. They had landed on a grassy hillside just outside the city and Jack was pulling out another one of his micro-packaged blankets.

“This is one of the first places I came with the Doctor and Rose Tyler,” Jack said. He sat on the blanket and patted a spot next to him for Ianto to join. Ianto begrudgingly sat down next to him.

“Why here though? It’s just Cardiff.”

“The Doctor needed to refuel his TARDIS,” Jack said with a smile.

“What?”

“It feeds on the time energy. That’s why he’s been here so often over the years. The rift provides the perfect fuel source,” Jack said point to the bay. “You know our secret lift?”

“Yeah,” Ianto said, swallowing hard. He was trying very hard not to remember the last time he was forced to use said lift.

“The perception filter that allows us to use it was accidentally left behind from the TARDIS on one of the Doctor’s many visits. He seems to always land in the exact same location,” Jack said, dropping his hand to the ground. “This time was no different. At least not at first. We had lunch with Rose’s boyfriend, Mickey. He’d taken the train over from London.”

“Rose had a boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” Jack said with a smirk. “I was as surprised as you are.”

“But she was,” Ianto paused. “Dancing with the Doctor.”

“And with me, but I do seem to have that charm.” He winked at Ianto as he continued. “Everything was going fine and well until the Doctor spotted a poster of the newly elected mayor.”

“Margaret Blaine?”

Jack nodded. “Turns out, the Doctor recognized her.”

“But how?”

“She wasn’t human, Ianto. Just a skin she was borrowing.”

“She wasn’t human?” Ianto said gaping. “What was she then?”

“Raxacoricofallapatorian. From the planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius.”

“Raxa-what-a-who-a-who?” Ianto said looking up.

“Raxacoricofallapatorius. It’s right at the edge of the Mutter’s Spiral. Has a twin planet, Clom. It’s got a purple atmosphere that can be seen from very far away. Gorgeous. Beautiful in fact,” Jack said with a smile. “But even the Raxacoricofallapatorians have their bad eggs.” He laughed to himself as he continued. “The Slitheen family, to which the Raxacoricofallapatorian residing inside Miss Blaine’s form belonged, was one of the most noted criminal families of the whole species. They bribed their way into government and proceeded to crash the planet’s economy, causing them to eventually be ousted by their own people in an uprising. They were tried as a family and were all sentenced to death.”

“So how did one of them end up inside Margaret Blaine?”

“They escaped. The Judoon forced them off the planet, but never executed them.”

“Judoon?”

“Think of them as rhino-like Space-Cops. Anyway, they escaped and they infiltrated Earth. In March of this year. 2006 that is. They took up disguising themselves as humans,” Jack said with a smirk. “The attempted to seize control of the British government, because they wished to start a nuclear war so the Earth would turn into an oversized Nuclear reactor which they would then sell off the remains of as starship fuel. The Doctor stopped them of course. He and Rose’s boyfriend, shot down Downing Street with a Missile, killing all of them. Or so they thought.” Jack paused and looked at Ianto’s face. “That’s what brings us to the current time and place. Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen survived that attack by teleporting herself to the Isle of Dogs. She came back soon after in her human suit and managed to get herself elected Mayor of Cardiff.”

“I voted for her,” Ianto mumbled.

“Don’t worry. A lot of people did.” Jack patted Ianto’s shoulder comfortingly. “She had a grand plan. She was going to destroy the nuclear reactor and with its meltdown the rift would amplify the results, destroying the Earth and sending her away on her tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator. She attempted to teleport away from us several times, but the Doctor used his screwdriver to reverse the affects. The Doctor decided it was time for Blon to return to Raxacoricofallapatorius and face punishment for what she had done. Meanwhile, I took the extrapolator back to the TARDIS. I knew I could use it to speed up the recharging cycle and I began trying to wire it into the main frame.” He looked at Ianto. “That’s when the Earthquake happened.” Ianto nodded.

“I remember that. Rhia and the kids almost got trapped,” Ianto said, staring off into the distance.

“Not long later, Rose and the Doctor came back to the TARDIS. We realized then that the extrapolator was a trap. It was designed to lock onto the nearest alien power source —the TARDIS — and send that energy to open the rift. We desperately tried to disable it, but failed. Blon took Rose hostage then and demanded her extrapolator returned. In that moment however, the heart of the TARDIS opened, revealing the whole of space and time. Blon looked into it and disappeared with the light. The skin of Margaret Blaine was left behind. The Doctor noticed something peculiar. An egg.”

“An egg?”

“An egg,” Jack said simply. “A Raxacoricofallapatorian egg to be exact. The TARDIS had recognized that Blon desperately wanted a chance at a new life and had given her just that. We then prepared to take the egg back to Raxacoricofallapatorius. We would give her to a different family in hopes that she could be a better person in her second life. But that’s when Rose realized something. Her boyfriend, Mickey, had left without saying good-bye. The Doctor offered to wait, but she said not. I later found out he had told her that due to her prolonged absence while adventuring the whole of space and time with the Doctor, he had begun seeing another girl.”

“Oh,” Ianto gasped. “Poor, Rose. She sounds like such a lovely girl.”

“She was. She really, really was.” They were quiet for a long time. Just looking out over the city.

“On our way to Raxacoricofallapatorius,” Jack continued. “We were intercepted in a way. The year was 200,100. The three of us were randomly transmatted into three different game shows on Satellite Five.”

“Hold up, what?”

“In 200,100, Satellite 5, better known as the Gamestation had some pretty interesting versions of some 21st century television shows going on. They picked their contestants randomly and teleported them into the scenarios using transmat. Short for Matter Transmission,” Jack eyed Ianto who nodded and Jack continued. “I was put into some sort of ‘What Not to Wear’-esque makeover show. The Doctor was on ‘Big Brother’ and Rose was on ‘The Weakest Link.’ The androids in charge of my show zap all my clothes off and well I was naked on public television.”

“Now that I’d like to see,” Ianto said with a smirk.

Jack laughed. “Their view figures did quadruple with that episode. But anyway. I had my fashion fun with the lovely robotic ladies, until they decided they didn’t like my face. They were going to cut my face off and replace it with a dog’s head. They pulled out chainsaws and various other sharp objects, but they didn’t know I was armed.”

“How could you be though?” Ianto said in astonishment. “Armed that is. You were naked weren’t you? Where’d you keep your weapon?”

“It was a compact laser deluxe pistol and you really don’t want to know where I was keeping it.” Jack laughed to himself.

“But you wouldn’t!” Ianto said, realizing what Jack was insinuating.

“Not anymore,” Jack said with a smile. “Back there though. I was never unarmed. I promptly blew off both their heads and redressed in my own clothes before modifying their defabricator gun into a ray gun and left the studio, in search of the Doctor and Rose. When I found the Doctor he was with Lynda, a girl he’d met at ‘Big Brother.’ He was hacking into the computer system in an effort to locate Rose. Floor 407, ‘The Weakest Link.’ So we went. Got on the lift and burst into the studio just as the final round ended and Rose was declared the weakest link. She ran towards us but only half-way across the space separating us, the Anne Droid zapped her into a pile of dust.”

“Shit,” Ianto said. “That is so not good.”

“No. The Doctor was in shock. He was silent. I however threatened the stage manager and the guy who had beaten Rose in the game, but guards arrived and took all three of us for questioning. They were about to use the transmat to send us to a Lunar Penal Colony when the doctor gave the sign and we both sprang into action. It’s something we’d discussed as a last resort on the way to find Rose.”

“What did you do?”

“Knocked them out and took their weapons. Then we ran back to the lift and went up. All the way up to floor 500. The offices.” Jack looked at Ianto. “We got there and waved our weapons as the programmers who skirted to the sides of the room. The ‘controller’ they called her was a woman. She had wires coming from every which part of her, hooking her into the station itself. The Doctor asked her who was in charge, but she didn’t respond. One of the programmers was nervous about the size of the Doctor’s gun, but of course being the Doctor he was never really going to use it, so he tossed it to the man and he explained. The programmer told us that the ‘controller’ was ‘installed’ when she was only five years old.”

“That’s barbaric! Why would anyone let that happen to their child?” Ianto said in disgust.

“I don’t know,” Jack shook his head. “But then he told us that there had been unauthorized transmats for years, including of course ours and that he couldn’t get into Archive 6 which is where those records are kept.” Jack laughed. “I didn’t have any problem though. Shot the lock right off the door and went inside. And do you know what I found?”

“What?” Ianto’s eyes widened.

Jack laughed again. “The Doctor’s TARDIS.”

“No. Seriously?”

Jack nodded with a small laughed. “I went in and got the console activated, but just as I was reading some remarkable news on the screens, they went fuzzy from a solar flare and the ‘controller’ called for the Doctor. He ran to her and she explained that during the flare her ‘masters’ could not control her mind as they had for many years. They had genetically altered her to not say be able to speak their names, but she had seen him in her transmissions and hid him in the games, so that he would find her. Her ‘masters’ she said had been hiding and shaping Earth for centuries, growing in numbers as they did, but they fear the Doctor above all else.” Jack paused and smiled. “The TARDIS had figured something out and as the flare passed I ran out to tell the Doctor. The disintegrator guns they were using were only a secondary transmat system. Rose wasn’t dead, only placed somewhere else. The controller shouted out the coordinates of where they had taken Rose only to be teleported away a second later since her ‘masters’ could control her once more.”

“So you went and got Rose then?” Ianto said, suddenly happy.

“Yeah, but first we had to find her.”

“What do you mean? The ‘controller’ gave you coordinates, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but they weren’t specific enough. We went back into the TARDIS and traced the teleport to a point on the edge of the solar system which appeared empty at first, but the Doctor realized there was a shielding signal being sent out from the satellite, blocking whatever was there. He deactivated the signal and we were both in shock.” Jack gulped suddenly. “Two-hundred Dalek Saucers each with thousands of Daleks on board. More than half a million in total. They opened communications. The leader of the Daleks spoke to the Doctor telling him to not mess with their plan or that he would exterminate Rose, who was in the background.”

“What did he do?” Ianto said, barely believing his ears.

Jack smiled. “He said ‘no.’”

“What?”

“He said, ‘no.’ and told them that he was going to rescue Rose, save the Earth, and then knock every last one of them out of the sky. The Dalek pointed out that he had no weapons, defences, or plans. He knew that, but he also knew, that’s what was scaring them most and he cut the transmission.”

“What did you do? Half a million Daleks and two of you. That doesn’t sound like a very good scenario,” Ianto said, clearly concerned.

“This,” Jack said finally. “Is the story of how I died (for the first time), but more on that later.” Jack laughed. At the time of its happening, laughing wouldn’t have been the right response at all, but after living for a couple of millennia, dying wasn’t so scary any more. “I used the tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator we’d taken from Blon to rig up a force-field around the TARDIS, protecting us from the missiles the Daleks sent at us on our approach. The TARDIS materialized on the ship where they were keeping Rose. He managed to land with her inside. There was a lone Dalek guarding her, which I destroyed with a gun from Satellite 5.”

“So you rescued Rose then?”

“Yeah,” Jack said with a smile.

“But what about the rest of those promises? Saving Earth? Destroying the Daleks?” Ianto said. He fiddled with his tie and Jack smiled. Jack kissed Ianto’s forehead before he continued the story.

“Don’t worry. I’m getting there. The Doctor inspected the Dalek wreckage and then we exited the TARDIS and were immediately fired upon by the surround Daleks, but the force-field was still protecting us. He taunted the Daleks with their own legends of his power before asking how they survived only to be answered by the Dalek Emporer himself.”

“The Daleks have an emporer?” Ianto asked. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “He was a mutant by this point though, suspended in a large glass tank of fluid. Other Daleks floated all around him. He explained that his ship had fallen through time after the Time War. And the Daleks on board spent centuries in ‘the dark space’ rebuilding. They infiltrated Earth and used human genetic material, converting it into Dalek. Rose said that made them half-human. The Daleks called it blasphemous. The emperor proceeded to call himself ‘the God of all Daleks.’ After the Doctor realized how insane they had been driven by the human DNA, we went back into the TARDIS and returned to floor 500.”

“Why?”

“To save the world of course,” Jack smiled. “Lynda was still there, waiting for our return. The Doctor sent the programmers to work blocking all further transmats into the Satellite. The Doctor I then started work on a Delta Wave to be transmitted via the Satellite which would fry every brain in its way, including all of the Daleks. I attached the extrapolator to the Station’s system so it couldn’t be blasted from the sky. I made sure they’d have to enter at floor 494 and work their way up from there. Then I kissed them both good-bye and went to help the others gather volunteers to stand against the Daleks from floor zero (that’s where the lobby was). We could only gather a few, but I told the rest to stay quiet and maybe the Daleks wouldn’t find them. Most of them didn’t believe the Daleks still existed.”

“Why didn’t they listen when you told them?”

“Humans are stubborn, Ianto.” Jack laughed. “They didn’t want to believe it so they didn’t. I contacted the Doctor on floor 500. He told me he had sent Rose back to her own time in the TARDIS. I asked how long till the wave was ready, but the Emperor interrupted the transmission reminding him that the wave would kill not only the Daleks, but every human in its range. He knew that, but by 200,100 there are human colonies all throughout the universe, they would survive, but every race would be at risk if the Daleks were allowed to live. I told the Doctor to keep working and told the Daleks that I have never and would never doubt the Doctor. He asked about the words ‘Bad Wolf.’”

“Bad Wolf?” Ianto asked.

“The Bad Wolf Corporation is what they’d been calling themselves. The words had been scattered throughout history. The Daleks however informed him that the words were not their own. The Dalek ships lowered into orbit and they came streaming from them towards the station. They entered at floor 494 as I had planned and easily turned off the internal lasers and exterminated the first line of defenders. The guns which I heard were effective against Daleks apparently were not. The bullets merely melted at their force-fields. They moved to floor 495 and encountered Anne Droid who destroyed three, before one blew her head straight off.”

“This is keeps getting worse,” Ianto said hiding his eyes against Jack’s chest.

“Do you want me to stop?” Jack asked, kissing the top of Ianto’s head as he wrapped his arms around him. “I don’t have to tell this story in so much detail. It is rather important in a broader sense though.”

“No, no,” Ianto said. “Keep going. It’s already happened, so I know you’re going to make it out alright in the end.” Ianto looked up and smiled. “Doesn’t mean it’s not going to be sad. I’m still sad every time you die, Jack. You know that? Even though I know you’re going to come back in a little while, I still get sad every time. Because what if, one day, you don’t come back?”

Jack kissed the top of Ianto’s head. “I actually, don’t think that’ll ever be possible. The Doctor once told me that I was a fixed point in time. I can’t be erased. This is permenant.”

“But how can you be sure?”

“I can’t be,” Jack said honestly looking at Ianto. “But don’t you worry about it.” He kissed Ianto’s forehead and pulled him tight against his chest. “I’m sorry it makes you sad.” Ianto smiled and kissed Jack’s forearm that was in front of his mouth. “Anyway. 2002nd Century. After Anne Droid, they didn’t go up, but to Lynda’s horror (She was watching the monitors for us.), they went down to floor zero and exterminated every single person left alive. Meanwhile, the rest of the Daleks had descended onto Earth below and started bombing. I was on floor 499. We organized ourselves as a last stand against the Daleks. I told them to fire directly onto their eyestalks. It’s a weak point in their armor and it worked. We killed one Dalek before they killed everyone except me. I retreated to floor 500, still firing at the oncoming squads. They tried to enter the room where Lynda was, but as they did this another squad approached from the outside and blasted the window out, killing her in the vacuum of space. I ran out of ammunition not long after that and they exterminated me in the hallway of floor 500, just as the Doctor finished the Delta Wave.”

“They,” Ianto could barely say the words. “They exterminated…you?”

“Yeah. That’s the first time I died. That time it would have been permanent, too.”

“Would have been?” Ianto asked curiously.

“Should have been.”

“What do you mean?”

“The next part I’ve only heard from the Doctor in stories and from Rose. Back on Earth, Rose looked into the heart of the TARDIS and absorb the whole of the time vortex into herself, which is really quite dangerous. She brought the TARDIS back to the station and deemed herself the Bad Wolf, spreading the name throughout history. She killed all of the Daleks by sheer willpower and then, without telling the Doctor what she was doing. She brought me back to life in the hallway. The first time I ever woke up from dying and why I can’t ever die again at least not permanently.”

“Rose. She saved you? And that’s why you can’t die?”

“Yes. And the Dcotor kissed her, sucking the vortex from her, killing himself in the process. As he began his regeneration cycle, Rose collapsed on the floor. He carried her back into the TARDIS and I got back into the room, just in time for them to leave without me.”

“They left you there?”

“The Doctor didn’t know I was alive and Rose was unconscious. What can you expect?”

“Wow,” Ianto said, laying his head against Jack’s shoulder. Jack smiled towards the bay.

“That’s when I ended up here,” Jack smiled at Ianto. “I knew the Doctor would have to go back to Cardiff sometime to refuel the TARDIS again, so I used my vortex manipulator to come back to Cardiff. I was shooting for the early 21st century, but the time was off and I ended up in 1869. The vortex manipulator burnt out and I was stuck.”

“Oh,” Ianto said looking up at Jack’s face. “That's sort of rubbish.”

“I thought so at the time, but I wouldn’t be working for Torchwood if it hadn’t happened, so you know. I think it might have been all worth it in the end.” He kissed Ianto’s forehead again. “If only because that means I have you.” The two kissed for a while. And Jack was finished telling stories at least for now. The day ended and they were off on another adventure.


	7. The Wrong Time and Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's story from his arrival in 1869 through the time he joined Torchwood in 1899.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Torchwood - "Fragments" and Doctor Who - "Utopia" and "The Last of the Time Lords" as well as the Children's book from BBC "Best Friends".

“Where are we?” Ianto asked looking around at the place they’d landed.

“New York City. Late 1800s,” Jack said with a smile. They’d teleported to Central Park in about 1890. “Come on,” Jack said waving for Ianto to follow him towards the entrance to the zoo.

“The Zoo?” Ianto asked astonished.

“Don’t you like the zoo?” Jack asked stopping to observe Ianto’s face.

“Not that,” Ianto said quickly. “Just, you haven’t been one for the public eye since we’ve been on this adventure.”

“Oh,” Jack said, smiling. “The lovely people of New York have nothing against me. Especially not in 1890. I hadn’t even come here yet.”

“Well,” Ianto said. “Now you have.”

Jack smiled and took Ianto’s hand as they walked towards the entrance.

“Can I help you?” the man behind the ticket counter asked.

“Two please,” Jack said.

“That’ll be 50 cents,” the man requested.

“Sure,” Jack said, releasing Ianto’s hand and digging it his coat pocket. He pulled out a couple of tarnished, ancient-looking American quarters and inspected the dates with a smirk before handing them to the man. The man took the quarters without looking at them really and handed Jack two entry tickets, one of which Jack handed to Ianto with a smile as they walked through the gates. Jack took Ianto’s hand again almost immediately, seeming to not notice the stares and disapproval emanating for most everyone around them. Ianto was too fascinated by Jack’s stories to pay attention to the mockery the new Yorkers were making of them. “Now, where was I?” Jack said as they started to walk towards the exhibits.

“1869 in Cardiff.”

“Right,” Jack said with a nod. “I stayed there for a while. Wasn’t the most exciting place ever, but could have been worse. But,” he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Two years from now, in 1892,” Jack said and brought his voice back to its regular tone. “I decided to emigrate. America seemed like a good choice, so off I went on a ship. The Ellis Island Immigration Station had just officially opened and I was there not but a few months after they started. Got myself into a fight with one of the officers. He wouldn’t believe I wasn’t already from America, my accent and all. Tried to convince him I was from Cardiff, but he wouldn’t have it. Told me to get back on the boat and go back to Cardiff if that’s where I was really from. I refused. We got into a wild fight and he killed me with a gunshot straight through my heart.” Ianto’s expression fell. “They moved my body to a chamber for disposal, but of course a little while later I was awake and fully healed. I snuck my way out and got back on the ship and went back to Cardiff. Was most certainly not worth my while.”

The two wandered a bit further into the zoo in silence for a few minutes before Ianto spoke. “So that’s twice you died then?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know at first, what was going to happen when I died again, but I woke up, just like I do now.”

“That must have been frightening.”

“It was off-putting at first, but I learned to live with it. I also discovered that I was aging, but incredibly slowly.”

“You haven’t aged a single day since I met you, Jack. That is such a lie.”

“It’s not,” Jack insisted. “I find a grey hair every now and then. It’s dreadful.”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “Yes, a grey hair is the end of the world for poor Captain Jack Harkness.”

Jack looked at Ianto grumpily as the wandered towards the next exhibit. “Anyway. Back in Cardiff in 1898. I was talking a girl and her father (oh my, were they attractive) at the Music Hall bar.” Jack fanned himself in response to the memory. Ianto just raised an eyebrow in his direction. “I booked a private box for a show with The Amazing Anthony.”

“Who’s that?”

“This kid. His name was Anthony Bradshaw. A man called Edward Hardiman, bought him from a Mr. Sutton the overseer of the Clarendon Workhouse.”

“A slave? In Cardiff?”

“No, not exactly. He was ‘gifted’, Anthony. He could answer any question he was asked. Future events, and everything right to the exact detail. With frightening accuracy. Mr. Hardiman had a running promotion that should anyone ask Anthony a question he could not answer, he would be paid one-hundred guineas. They were in Cardiff for almost a month when I finally figured it out.”

“What happened?”

“Someone asked Anthony how he knew these things and he told the woman that it was his best friend, Lawphoram, who told him all the answers. I knew I had to do something to save the child then.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Lawphoram is an alien parasite. It feeds on human brain cells until gradually the human is all eaten up and shrivels and dies.”

“That’s horrible.”

“It is, but I knew a question which even the Lawphoram wouldn’t have an answer to. I asked Anthony when I would die. And the boy could not provide an answer, of course, since I can’t die,” Jack smirked at Ianto again.

“But how would 100 guineas help save the boy?”

“They wouldn’t, but I knew Mr. Hardiman didn’t actually have 100 guineas either. So I told him that I knew he had purchased Anthony, like a slave and said I would take the boy in exchange for the owned payment and he agreed, leaving us. I told Anthony what had happened to him and I used my manipulator’s functions to remove the parasite from him. He collapsed, but slowly color came back to his cheeks and he was fine. I took him to an orphanage when he would be cared for properly.”

“So you just left the kid with people who didn’t know what happened? They’d never believe him if he said. What did you tell them?”

“That I had found him on the streets, alone, and I left before he woke. I returned to him only once, just before he died some years later in a hospital bed. When he asked how I had not aged in the time I’d been gone, I told him my question was a trick and that I would never die, only live and watch my friends die.” Jack looked at Ianto’s face and immediately his heart gave a terrible tremble. Friends dying was all too close to home. After all it was only a few weeks ago that Ianto, his nearest and dearest friend, his lover, his most trusted ally had almost died in his arms. Ianto’s expression echoed Jack’s as they walked to the next exhibit in silent sadness. “1899,” Jack said, trying to put on a smile again, “was the year my life changed for good.”

“Why’s that?” Ianto asked curiously.

“Torchwood Three was operating in Cardiff and they’d caught wind of me.”

“Oh,” Ianto said, smiling again. Trying to forget the sadness in the air.

“I’d died quite a number of times since New York. Bar fights mostly. It wasn’t pleasant, but I woke up, of course. In 1899, however, I was in yet another bar fight.”

“You really shouldn’t be allowed in bars anymore, Jack, you know that? You always end up dying when you go.”

Jack laughed. “You know, Ianto, I think you might be right.” He smiled and squeezed Ianto’s hand as the watched the animals play. “But anyway, I’d been stabbed with a broken bottle and left for dead in an alleyway behind the bar. I woke up, gasping, as always. All I could think was ‘not again,’ and then I looked down at my stomach to find the bottle still sticking out of me as I tried to sit up.”

“Okay, that is not alright. How did you not feel that?”

“My body had healed itself around the bottle as if it were part of me. I calmed myself enough to pull the bottle out. I laid back against the hay baskets behind me and tried to catch my breath, but that’s when I looked down the alley to see two women staring at me.”

“Oh,” Ianto said out of surprise.

“I tried to play it off like I was just tough. I didn’t know how much they’d seen or who they were. I got to my feet and told them a bar fight had gotten a little out of control. I, however, was still not used to the feeling of waking up from death, but I couldn’t say that, so a hangover seemed a reasonable thing not to be used to. They didn’t speak a word. I introduced myself and asked how long they’d been there as the got closer and closer to me. They still said nothing,” Ianto was starting to worry, Jack could see it on his face. “Told them how I used to date a guy with no mouth. He was surprisingly creative. One of the punched me in the gut and knocked me back to the ground then the other straddled my neck. I tried flirting, being cheeky, I tried anything, but they weren’t saying a word. She took out her handkerchief and wadded it up in my mouth before choking me, to death, again.”

“They killed you, again? When you’d just woken up.”

“That wasn’t the last time either,” Jack said as they walked towards the next exhibit. “I was awoken, the next time to them throwing a bucket of water on my face. I was tied to a chair in an unfamiliar place. Told them that when I'd ’aid about getting a room I’d meant somewhere with linen and one of them threw another bucket of water at my face.”

“Not very pleasant, these two, were they?”

“Not at the start.”

“Oh, they got better?” Ianto said, sounding skeptical.

“Oh, yeah, loads actually. But not right away. I was in a dungeon-looking place. Iron-rod door on my right and stone walls all the way round. The one without the bucket approached me and ripped the top of my shirt open and placed two electrodes on my chest before going back to where she’d been, again without words. She turned the machine the whole way up and it shocked me. It would have killed you or any other person, but not me. She noticed. Told them they were ahead of themselves. It was technology that hadn’t been invented yet.”

“Wait,” Ianto said with a sudden realization. “Were they Torchwood?” Jack nodded. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Alice Guppy and Emily Holroyd. Torchwood Cardiff. I was down by the cells in the Hub.”

“Oh,” Ianto said with a smirk. “We should try that sometime. Water, electricity. Could be fun.”

“Deadly, Ianto. It could be deadly.”

“Oh, alright,” Ianto resigned to listening again.

“That’s when the other one pulled out a revolver and shot me.”

“She shot you?”

“Killed me. I woke up a few minutes later of course and she asked me why I wasn’t dead, so I told her I was trying to figure that out myself. They noted that I’d been killed 14 times in the past 6 months. I felt like more than that to me. They asked who the Doctor was. I told them I didn’t know, so they started reading a list of quotes. Things I’d said about him. She came over and pushed the papers hard into my stomach and stepped back. Told her ‘no one likes a smartass.’ And she had the nerve to tell me, to tell them where he was. I asked them why they wanted to know.”

“You didn’t tell them, did you?”

“Didn’t know myself, so how could I? The blonde one told me I was in Torchwood Cardiff and that the Torchwood Institute was created to ‘combat the threat posed by the Doctor and other fantasmagoria.’ I couldn’t help but laugh. Threat caused by the Doctor. They really had it all backwards. I set them right of course. Didn’t believe me, but I tried. I told them he’d left me behind, that I didn’t know where he was. I told them that he used the Rift to refuel the TARDIS. I told them I was waiting and asked if I could go, and the snarky brunette told me no. They then rebuked and said I could go if I would work for them. And they gave me my first assignment at Torchwood.”

“What did they want you to do?”

“Hunt down a goldfish head. You’ve seen those.”

“Oh, what did you do with him, then?”

“Brought him back to the cells. I was putting him in and I told Alice, the brunette, that he was only a kid and that we should send him back where he came from.”

“Let me guess she said something along the lines of ‘the Rift only goes one-way.’”

“Which we now know is a lie, but yeah. That’s what she said. I asked what she was going to do and she pulled out her revolver and shot him. I restrained her and asked why. She said ‘he was a threat to the empire.’ So I got snarky and asked, ‘what? Like me?’ and she said I was their ally now. Went up to the office and Emily, the blonde one, paid me in the cash currency of the time.” He looked at Ianto, briefly. “I took the money and got up to leave. But she stretched out her hand with another bit of parchment. I asked her what it was and she said my next assignment. I made for the door. She told me that my liberty was at their discretion and that I could either continue working for them or they would have to consider me a threat, and shoot me again. Tried to convince me with the money. I took the envelope and threw it back at her and stormed out. She told me to see what I thought in the morning. I heard them as I left of course. Talking. Alice told Emily that I was pretty.” A wide grin broke out over Jack’s face.

“She used the word pretty?”

“Yes,” Jack said with a smile. “Do you not think I’m pretty?”

Ianto laughed. “You’re gorgeous, Jack. Absolutely gorgeous.” And forgetting completely where they were, Ianto kissed him. The crowd around them got all a bother very quickly and they were thrown out of the zoo by a security officer a few moments later. Ianto apologized profusely for causing a scene, but Jack laughed and pulled him away by the hand.

Jack smiled and led and Ianto away from the zoo, deeper into the park towards a wooded area. They found an opening at the center of the woods, where they wouldn’t be bother and Jack pulled out another of his blankets and spread it on the ground. They sat and Ianto put his head on Jack’s shoulder as the story began again.

“A few nights later I was in a back alleyway, drinking a fourth of rum and a young girl came over to me and asked if she could read by cards. I told her no, but she knocked my bottle and glass off the table and knealt down. I told her that I’d said no, but she continued. She flipped three cards and looked up at me and said, ‘He’s coming. The one you are waiting for.’”

“The Doctor?” Ianto said, surprised.

Jack nodded. “She flipped three more cards and told me the century would turn twice before we’d find each other. I looked at her, not believing what she said, but as soon as I saw her face, I knew it was real and that I’d have to wait 100 years to find the Doctor again. I didn’t know what to do in the meantime.”

“Torchwood?” Ianto asked.

“Torchwood,” Jack confirmed. “The next morning I went back and Emily handed me an envelope with my second assignment. They made me a personnel file and everything. Uncontracted Agent it said at first. I became a field agent a few decades later.”


	8. Torchwood Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack tells Ianto about his time at Torchwood up through the time Ianto joined the team in 2007.

Jack and Ianto spent the night at a posh hotel in city before teleporting to Dehli, India. The British flag was flying at various places around the city, so it clearly wasn’t modern times.

“When are we?” Ianto said as Jack took his hand and lead him towards a grassy area near the river.

“Early 20th century,” Jack said. He looked down at his vortex manipulator. “January 14, 1914.”

“Wow,” Ianto said, looking around. When they’d arrived at the river side Jack took out another of his blankets and placed it on the ground. And they sat as always and Jack began his story again.

“In 1902 I made the wonderful decision to start up a savings account which has been growing ever since. Someday, I’ll be able to retire from Torchwood without worrying, but when you’re going to live forever, a retirement fund isn’t exactly the easiest thing to come up with.” Jack laughed at his own story. “In 1906, I made some pretty terrible life choices,” Jack started. Ianto stared for a moment before he realized what Jack must be talking about.

“Jackson Leaves,” Ianto said.

“Yeah. You remember that story?” Ianto nodded. “In 1909, I was in charge of a group of soldiers travelling through Lahore, Pakistan via train. I was part of con trying to steal the diamonds that the soldiers were guarding.”

“I thought you’d given up the cons?” Ianto raised his eyebrow at Jack.

“I did. It was a Torchwood con.” He eyed Ianto knowingly. “We still do those on occasion you’ll remember.”

“Of course,” Ianto said, smiling.

“But anyway. In Lahore, some of the soldiers had been out in the tank and they’d run over and killed a young child. That was bad enough in itself, but unlucky for them, she was a Chosen One. And the Fairies were having none of that, so of course along they came and killed us all.” Jack’s face twitched slightly at the memory. “Of course, I woke up a few minutes later to find the train car full of dead soldiers all of whom were under my command.”

“I remember that one, too.” Ianto said, nodding.

“Yeah, I figured you might. But anyway in 1914, I left Torchwood for a while, went into the military for real this time. Went to war. World War I. I ‘survived’ a bullet to the head and of course they had me in the hospital for a long while, because they found me before I’d healed completely. The looks on their faces when they removed the bandage the first time to see the wound completely gone were pretty priceless.”

“I imagine so,” Ianto said, laughing slightly.

“By 1918, I was still at war, but back in Cardiff, new faces had taken over Torchwood Three. Gerald Carter and Harriet Derbyshire,” Jack nodded at Ianto when he seemed to remember the names. “They’re the ones who put Tommy in suspended animation.”

“Oh, right!”

“When I returned from war, my next assignment as the Night Travellers. You remember them?” Ianto nodded and Jack continued. “Then in 1924, I was sent here, to Delhi.”

“What for?”

“To shut down Torchwood India. Don’t you remember our trip here?”

“Ohhhhhhhh,” Ianto said suddenly. “Right! I’d forgotten about that. Wasn’t a very successful mission, was it?”

“Seemed like it was at the time,” Jack recalled. “Had a bit of a fling with Eleanor, their leader while I was in town, but got the operation shut down alright…or so I thought.”

“Yeah,” Ianto nodded.

“In 1927, I was sent on another mission to New York City. I was there to stop the Trickster’s Brigade, who were trying to put a parasite in the president’s brain. Nasty business. Anyway it was back to Ellis Island for me. I was waiting in a line for my visa when a man, Angelo Colasanto, took it from me. I confronted him and got the visa back and he was detained in a cell on the island. But I felt bad, so I went to see him. We talked for a while and I used this,” Jack pointed to his vortex manipulator, “to make him a visa of his own. He was freed and we continued on to the city. We shared a room and had a very heated relationship.”

“You had sex with the man that stole your visa?” Jack nodded. “Only you, Jack. Only you.” Ianto shook his head.

“We went to the warehouse where the parasite was being kept to destroy it. After we killed it, we were caught. They killed me and captured and imprisoned Angelo for a little more than a year. When I woke up and found out this information, I returned to Cardiff and continued my missions for Torchwood. However, the next year, on the day of Angelo’s release, I returned to New York to greet him. I tried to convince him I’d only been playing dead, but he didn’t believe me. He thought I was the devil and stabbed me through the heart.”

“He killed you?” Jack nodded. “He steals your visa, gets arrested, kills you, and you slept with him. You really are one of a kind, Jack.”

“I didn’t know he was going to kill me!” Ianto sighed as Jack’s excuses. “I came back to life of course a few minutes later. He was shocked. He and some of his friends chained me up and tortured me. They thought my immortality was some sort of miracle or blessing. Three men came into the room where I was. I didn’t know their names, but luckily soon after, Angelo decided I was alright after all and helped me escape. We got to the roof and there was nowhere left to run, so I jumped.”

“Suicide,” Ianto said. “That’s a new one.”

“Suicide, isn’t really much when you know you’ll be coming back to life in a few minutes.”

“Suppose that’s true,” Ianto said, smiling. “So what happened after that?”

“I woke up. Angelo hadn’t caught up yet, so I ran and I got back to Cardiff before he could find me. Haven’t seen him since. I don’t even know if he’s still around. Not sure if I want to know, actually.” Jack shrugged his shoulders and looked at Ianto. “Am I boring you with these stories?”

“No,” Ianto shook his head. “It’s fascinating. You’re life. You’re history. I want to know about you, Jack.” He smiled. Jack smiled in return and then kissed him quickly before continuing his story.

“In the early 1940s, I met Estelle Cole. She was gorgeous. We met at the Astoria Ballroom.”

“The Fairy lady? Right?”

“Yeah,” Jack smiled slightly, but his expression fell. “I loved her. She was really wonderful. Pity I had to go to war. Even bigger pity I don’t age.” He nodded solemnly.

“That’s not a pity, Jack. Going to war, sure, but not aging? Isn’t that every person’s dream?”

Jack laughed. “You know, I guess you’re right. But I do age,” he corrected. “Just not very fast. It isn’t noticeable over an average lifetime.”

Ianto shook his head. “You haven’t changed, at all, since I met you.”

“I probably won’t change noticeably before you die,” Jack said, a tear falling from the corner of his eye. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Ianto shook his head.

“You know the story of what happened in 1965.” Jack looked very much like he did not want to talk about those events at all. Ianto gave a stiff nod. “In the early 1970s, Torchwood hired on a young Italian girl, Lucia Moretti.”

“Alice’s mum?”

Jack nodded. “Alice or well Melissa was born in 1975. By the end of 1976, Lucia had grown scared of me and my immortality and she sent Melissa into the witness protection program. That’s when she got the name Alice. I didn’t do much for Torchwood after that until Lucia retired. It was too awkward for everyone and I hated seeing her like that. However, it wasn’t long after she retired that I became a full-time employee rather than just a contracted worker for Torchwood. I did eventually find Alice, as I guess you can assume and we became cordial at best. When he mother died in 2006, I tried to convince her that I could help her, but she wouldn’t let me. I went to her wedding. The got divorced not long after, Steven was born.” It was clear to Ianto that talking about his family was making Jack upset.

“I know, Jack. I know about them, at least a little bit. You don’t have to tell me,” Ianto said, embracing Jack awkwardly from where they were sitting on the blanket. Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto and buried his face in Ianto’s shoulders as he took a deep breath. “It’s going to be alright. You can go and see them when we get back to Cardiff,” Ianto said. Jack offered a weak smile as he sat up and they released each other.

“I’m sorry,” Jack said through deep breaths. He wiped the tears from his eyes. “I just wished I’d been able to be around for her growing up. I feel like a terrible father every time I look at her.”

“You’re not a terrible father, Jack. Lucia, wasn’t the world’s greatest mum though. She kept your daughter from you and that’s not exactly fair, but there’s nothing you can do about. Not now.” Jack offered another weak smile. “What did you do when you became a full-time agent of Torchwood, then?” Ianto asked, trying to change the topic.

Jack swallowed and smiled more genuinely. “During the ‘90s, I went to London frequently. I watched Rose Tyler growing up. From a distance of course. I couldn’t cross our timelines before it was time.”

“That’s nice,” Ianto said, cheerfully. “Did she have a good childhood?”

“She really did. I’m glad I got to see that side of Rose. The Pre-Doctor version. She was great kid. But December 31, 1999 was one of the most eventful days Torchwood Three will ever see.”

“Why’s that?”

“Alex, our leader, gathered the team at the Hub. Everyone except me,” Jack swallowed hard. “He shot them. Killed everyone and waited for me to show up right at midnight. Said there was an oncoming storm, something humanity could not face. He said ‘The twenty-first century is when everything changes, and we’re not ready.’ Then she shot himself, leaving me in charge of Torchwood Three as the only surviving member of the team.”

“Why would he do that?”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t know, but he did. I cleaned up the Hub. Put all of their bodies in storage. When I went to the vaults to put the bodies away and I came across two in suspended animation and when I looked up their files I found that they had been taken by the rift and brought back at another time. They were broken people. Not really human anymore, but not anything else, either. That’s when I set up the institution on Flat Holm Island. I hired carers, told them they were experiments gone wrong. Couldn’t tell them the truth of course. I go a visit sometimes. I could bare leave they frozen and alone in the vaults. It wasn’t right.”

“But Flat Holm Island. It’s deserted. No one lives there. It’s just scrubland.”

Jack smiled and shook his head. “No, that’s where we keep the people that the Rift spits back at us now.” He nodded and smirked. “Gwen found out the hard way why we don’t tell their families. Remember Jonah Bevan, the missing boy?”

Ianto nodded.

“Gwen took his mother there to see him. Nasty shock for both of them when we started screaming bloody murder like he does every day for most of his time. She didn’t understand. She wouldn’t listen. Now his mum’s more scarred than she would have been never knowing at all.”

“That’s horrible.”

“It was.” Jack nodded. “But after I got that set up, I went about trying to recruit a new team, but I ended up alone for almost three years, before I got Suzie on board. She was good. She saw me hunting a Weevil one night and was really helpful, so I gave her the job.”

“Toshiko came on board in 2004. She had worked for Lodmoor Research Facility, the Ministry of Defense. She was blackmailed with her mother’s life and stole the schematics, though faulty, and created a working sonic modulator. UNIT had her arrested and held without trial in their facility. I went and got her and gave her a job with us.”

“Sonic modulator? That’s how Tosh got her job?” Ianto laughed.

“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “She was good. Too good. I recruited Owen in 2006. His fiancé, Katie, had a parasite in her brain. An alien parasite. The medical community thought it just a tumor, but Owen knew it wasn’t. The parasite killed the operating team when they opened the top of Katie’s skull. I arrived on the scene, not long after Owen realized something was wrong and explained it to him before taking body.” Jack paused. “She’s in the vaults, too. I couldn’t let that out. Alien parasites are some nasty business. Owen blabbed about the alien to anyone who’d listen, but of course no one believe him. I went back and offered the job with Torchwood and he came on board.”

Ianto laughed. “Owen was engaged?”

“I know,” Jack said. “I find that rather hard to believe, too. Two weeks after I hired him, Owen was too hung-over to do his job, so Tosh had to fill in for him. The Doctor needed some help looking at a space-pig. It wasn’t an alien, but it had been modified by one.”

“Tosh did an autopsy?”

Jack nodded. “Not half-bad actually.” Jack smiled. “Later that year, Torchwood One destroyed a Sycorax ship over London, under orders from Harriet Jones, then Prime Minister. When I was inspecting the wreckage I found a severed hand that was still somehow alive. I used my manipulator to scan it and sure enough it belonged to the Doctor. I kept that hand as I’m sure you remember. It turned out to be useful in the end.”

“How?”

“That part comes later,” Jack laughed. “But, the next part of the story, I think you might be familiar with. 2007, Torchwood One at Canary Wharf was destroyed. I continued working for Torchwood Three. We were however given a lot more freedom and I reinvented our whole strategy. A bit later that year, you joined out team. I don’t suppose I have to tell you that story.”

Ianto laughed. “No, you really don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be one more chapter after this of Jack's story. Then the scene previously mentions at the Intergalactic bar with River before new stuff will start happening.


End file.
